Otherworld Company Chapter 164.1: The End Result of Ignoring Risk and Seeking Only Results

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　　Another Side

~3^rd Person Perspective~

　The quiet forest is tinged with murmurs and cries of fear.

　The low-rank spirits run for their lives against the undead who suddenly appear, while the few spirits of the middle rank fight back, some with lower-rank spirits in tow, others alone, and still others, realizing their disadvantage, disappear from the scene.

　In response, the dark elves who served as guides rushed out, the testers were bewildered, and the troops prepared by the demons began to move.

“Thi-this is good enough for you, right?” (Unknown 1)

“Yes, that’s enough.” (Unknown 2)

　In the midst of the chaos of this forest, if there had been even one spirit of higher rank or special rank, the story would have been different.

　The one nodding in satisfaction at the current situation from a particularly high vantage point was deeply robed, and although we could not see his face, we could tell from the quality of his voice that he was a man.

　The other has no hood, so you could see his face clearly.

　First of all, he is young, not yet 20 years old, or just about to become so.

　A man with dark hair and a young face, who is on the verge of becoming a young man, is anxiously asking for confirmation about the incident.

　It is clear from this conversation alone which person is in charge.

“Then! Tell me how to remove this thing!!” (Unknown 1 => Young Man)

　The relationship, however, is not a healthy one; it is that of assailant and victim, the one who threatened and the one who was threatened.

　The young man’s right hand was equipped with a dull gray gauntlet, and in that hand, he held a single dagger that had little presence.

　At first glance, the dagger appeared to be a simple dagger that could be found in any weapons shop.

　A reasonably skilled blacksmith would be able to tell that the blade had been forged by a skilled blacksmith.

　But that is as far as it goes.

　It takes a first-rate smith to realize that the dagger’s essence is a feeling of being rare.

　A weapon is basically something that evokes a number of emotions.

　A magnificent weapon evokes admiration for its beauty, a sharp blade evokes fear, and a mighty blade evokes longing for its power.

　This dagger does not evoke any of these emotions.

　No, it does not.

　If one were to look at it, the fact that it was a dagger that merely existed would have made it even more suspicious.

　But the young man who possessed it was terrified of the dagger.

　He held out his right hand as if appealing to the man who was nodding in satisfaction at the scene before him, eager to let it go as soon as possible, not just for a moment, but for a second.

“I did everything you asked me to do!! You promised to remove this if I did everything!!” (Young Man)

“Yeah, that’s right.” (Unknown 2 => Robed Man)

　The man responded without averting his gaze from the scene in front of him as if he did not care about the young man’s cries or the situation, as if he were worth nothing more than a stone on the side of the road.

　The young man’s frustration grew with the indifference, but that did not make him act rashly.

　No, he couldn’t.

　The young man understood.

　He understood that this man was an existence that could not be harmed even by the use of this abominable magic sword.

　The young man and the man were so far apart in ability that he could not even make the other fight seriously.

　So, he did what he was told in this way and fulfilled his promise with the possibility that he might be saved.

　He tried to solve the problem in such a way, but the man before him would not fulfill that promise.

“Tsu!!” (Young Man)

　The young man’s anger has passed its peak and is overflowing at that gesture.

　Still, he could not raise his outstretched right hand.

　The man, sensing his anger, did not show any emotion.

　Three months have already passed since the man and the young man met.

　It was by chance that the young man accepted a job offer from MAO Corporation.

　He had not been able to go to college, had not been able to find a job, had no time to spare, and was in a state of mild despair about his life.

　It was at such a time that he came across a fantasy, and it was enough to make him feel that he was special.

　He was able to use magic, and even by chance, he met a kindred spirit.

　The young man was one of the testers and was conquering dungeons with his friends.

　It was a good start.

　The beginning was good.

　The training in using magic was a life-changing experience for the young man.

　In addition, the fact that he had a magical aptitude of six, a high aptitude even among his peers, made the young man even more determined.

　Then the young man heard a rumor about a man.

　He talked about an old man who was a failure on the verge of thirty.

　He was always falling apart in training and could not produce any good results.

　He heard from his fellow workers that he had a colleague who was such a failure.

　When the young man heard about this, he was completely disgusted, saying that he did not want to be that kind of adult and that he was different from them.

　At that time, he still thought he was special.

　However, once the training was over and it was time for actual combat, the faint sense of superiority in the name of galvanizing, which prevented him from properly evaluating himself, was of no use.

　He was chased around by goblins who should have been easily defeated, and even if he defeated them, he couldn’t gain much experience.

　What awaited him was not a figure of himself that could be easily conquered like in a game, but only a pathetic boy who was blocked by a wall called reality.

　The young man thought many times.

　“It shouldn’t be like this.”

　“I should be able to do better.”

　He tried to discuss it with his friends, but the five friends of his age who had been there at first said it was boring, and then there was one gone, then two gone, and finally the young man was left alone.

　Yes, it had become so.

　It would have been better if he could have given up there and walked away from this world too.

　If he had just decided that he wasn’t suited for it and thought about getting another job, there might still have been another future waiting for him.

　But the young man could not abandon “his special” fantasy world.

　A young man who didn’t want to get away from his everyday life made a tough decision and went to another party to make a fresh start.

　At first, all of the tester’s parties welcomed him gladly because he would increase their strength.

　However, the difference between the ideal and the reality of not doing well, and his inexperience of frustration, in a sense, distorted his relationships, which was a natural consequence.

　Sometimes being young is a positive factor, but sometimes is a negative factor.

　How did he look to others as he pushed forward, never bending his will, never listening to the opinions of those around him, and never giving up on himself?

　The party that welcomed him described the young man as cocky and quickly distanced themselves from him.

　The young man did not understand their attitude.

　Why, he wondered, did they not understand him?

　Still, he did not give up.

　He consulted with the personnel in charge.

　Thanks to his efforts, he was able to find another party.

　This time, he was determined to try again, but the result was the same.

　The party did not accept the young man who believed that his distorted ideas were correct.

　And he was also warned by the person in charge of the consequences of his actions.

　The young man’s behavior was wrong and he was told to fix it.

　From the young man’s point of view, who thought the person in charge was on his side, the warning was nothing but a betrayal.

　From the point of view of the person in charge, it was nothing more than advice with good intentions to help a young person, but from the young man’s point of view, those words sounded like words of betrayal.

　Therefore, he distanced himself from his handler as well, thinking that he was the only one he could trust.

　Then he suddenly remembered.

　There was one old man who had become a failure.